A Loud Gamer
by Jacula
Summary: Lincoln Loud has always been a fan of video games. However, one day he found his life turning into one. As he begins to learn more about this strange ability and master it, he has to now deal with his teenage life getting even more hectic as he starts to deal with unwanted attention, from more than one group. Lincoln/Harem. (Loud Gamer rewrite)
1. Press Start

_Rain poured down, thunder booming in the sky. _

_Lightning flashed, causing a car alarm in the distance to go off. _

_The neighborhood was quiet outside of the weather, however. Most likely everyone was asleep for the night and getting ready for the next day. It was a Sunday after all. Not that they were complaining, it made it easier to move around in._

_Two figures, wrapped in cloaks, approached a two floored green colored house. One stayed behind, constantly looking around as if they were afraid of being followed._

_The other one walked closely in front, it's arms wrapped around a basket with a blanket draped over it. From the basket, however, one could hear the faint signs of crying. _

_The figure holding the basket took notice of this as they stopped at a corner and leaned their head closer to the item in their hands. "Shh, don't worry little one. It won't be long now."_

_It appeared to work as the crying eventually died down, causing a small but sad smile to appear on the person's face._

"_Is he alright?" A male voice asked from behind, as the person in front turned to see the other looking straight at them. They could make out two blue eyes staring at them concerned. _

_The one in front nodded, their own ruby eyes staring back at the bundle as a female voice escaped their lips. "Yes… he seems to have calmed down for now. The storm is probably frightening him." The person turned back to the house in front of them. "All the more reason to hurry and get him to Albert."_

"_Yeah…" The male figure remained silent for a moment before continuing. "Liza, I…"_

"_Sieg." The woman cut him off as she began to walk forward to the house. "I've made my peace with the decision as much as I hate it. We have to protect our child, no matter the cost. That's our job, our __**duty**__, as parents. So please… don't make me start having doubts about it now."_

_The man named Sieg stayed silent, before nodding as he continued on their way. "Right… I'm sorry. But don't worry, I have no doubt whatsoever that Albert will find a good family for him. He's a trustworthy friend and mentor of mine's. In fact, he might even leave him with Rita and Lynn. They love children and I've known Rita for awhile now. He'll be loved, I'm sure of it."_

_Liza didn't respond, simply opting to continue walking forward towards their destination. Sieg sighed as he followed the woman._

_The two stood in front of the front door of the one story house, using the overhead as shelter from the rain. They looked at one another, blue meeting ruby, before they turn to the bundle in Liza's arms._

"_Can… can we have one more look at him?" Liza asked, obvious begging in her tone._

"_Liza…"_

"_Please!" Liza's ruby eyes looked up at Sieg, small tears beginning to form. "I know we have to hurry and leave. B-But he's our child! I-I just want to look at him one more time."_

_Sieg remained silent, before coming close to the bundle and pulling off the blanket that was covering it. There laid in the basket, was a small male infant with a small crop of white hair and closed eyes as he cried. He seemed to take notice of the two adults staring at him, as he opened his blue eyes to stare at the two._

_Liza smiled. "He has your eyes."_

_Sieg also smiled. "He has your hair."_

_The infant took notice of the two smiling adults, and began to reach out towards them. Liza grabbed one of the small hands, playing with it slightly causing small laughs to escape the infant._

"_Aren't you just the most adorable thing?" Liza cooed, a smile forming on her face as she played with her child, getting cries of delight._

"_Liza." Sieg interrupted, causing the woman to look at him. "We need to hurry."_

_Liza's eyebrows furrowed and she appeared ready to argue, before looking into Sieg's eyes. There she noticed the hurt, remorse, and pain in them as he stared at his child and wife._

'_This is killing him as much as it's killing me…' The woman thought, feeling bad for her selfishness. Of course it was killing him, this was an option no parent would ever want to make._

_But… it was the only one he had. __**They **__had._

_Liza took a shaky breath, forcing down her emotions as she looked at her son for what would most likely be the last time. _

"_I'm sorry about this my child. But… but we must go. It is not because we do not love you, for we do, but we must do this for your safety. I hope that one day you'll understand and you grow up loved and strong."_

_As she stopped, Sieg looked towards his first, and most likely, last born. "I'm sorry for this too son. If I had any other options, I would have chosen any of them. But, unfortunately I do not have enough time and things have grown far too dangerous to keep you with us. As your mother said, I hope that you grow up strong and loved, which under Albert's watchful eye I have no doubt that you will. We love you, and we always will… Lincoln."_

_With that, he took out a small bag along with a letter from underneath his cloak and place it in the basket with Lincoln along with a small letter. He then reached towards his neck, and pulled off a dark necklace with a dark X shaped pendant. Closing his eyes, he gave a small chant before placing the item as well with Lincoln and pulling the blanket back over him._

_The couple shared one last look with one another, before nodding as they place Lincoln down on the ground and Sieg rang the doorbell. Wasting no time, they began their trek out into the rain, desperately trying to ignore the loud cries of their now abandoned son as Liza struggled to hold it together with Sieg holding on to her hand in an effort to comfort her. _

_Soon after they left, the front door opened and a large grizzled man with white hair stepped out and stared down at the bundle on the ground in front of him. Crouching down, he pulled the blanket back, revealing a crying infant with white hair and a letter along with an assortment of other items. Opening the letter and giving it a quick read, he gave a small sigh._

"_God… I'm starting to get too old for this." The man chuckled as he looked at the infant who had stopped crying and was instead looking at him curiously as he lifted the basket up and walked inside his home, closing the door behind him. "Well, guess I need to start trying to find you a home little one. Hmm, maybe Rita and Lynn will take you in. Sure they just had Lori almost a year ago, and are already expecting their second in a month or two, but I'm sure we can fit you in there." _

_Noticing a smile come to the baby's face, the large man grinned. "Don't worry Lincoln, everything is going to be alright. Your good ole Pop Pop is going to take care of things."_

_The baby laughed, causing the older man's grin to widen.  
_

* * *

_BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

The alarm on a phone blared, signaling the coming of morning as traces of sunlight peered through one of the upper windows into the bedroom of a two story house.

The bedroom was quite small, just big enough for one person and their things. It contained the bare essentials for one living in it, namely a twin sized bed, a dresser with a mirror behind it, and a few posters on the walls. On top of the dresser were a few items namely figurines, books, and a laptop.

From the bed came a small groan as a light skinned arm shot out from underneath the blanket and went for the phone that was lying on the floor next to the bed. Picking it up, it brought it up towards the mattress as light blue eyes peeked out from underneath to look at the screen.

"Dang…" A masculine voice muttered, as a finger pressed the snooze button ending the annoying beeping. "Seven already?"

The arm went back under the blanket before rustling followed. Not long after, the blanket was pushed to the side revealing a male teen underneath. He was of medium build, having slightly defined muscles. On top of his head laid likely his most defining physical trait which was his snow white hair that was worn in a messy style with a noticeable cowlick in the back. He was dressed in an orange t-shirt along with a pair of black shorts that came down to his knees.

The teenage boy yawned as he stood up from his bed and looked into the mirror, his blue eyes staring back at him. Smiling to himself, he began to stretch before looking behind him to see a strange sight.

There hovering behind him, was a light blue screen with a group of text on it which he tiredly began to read.

**_You have received a good night's rest! HP and MP have been fully recovered._**

Sighing slightly, he tapped the small X in the top right corner of the screen causing it to close and disappear. He scratched the back of his head, as he opened one of the drawers to his dresser to pull out several towels along with a few toiletries.

'_Don't complain now Lincoln…' _The teen thought to himself with another yawn as he stepped out of his room and into the hallway as he dragged himself towards the bathroom, relishing in the rare silence of the house. _'You decided to start waking up earlier to beat the long line to the bathroom.'_

A few moments later, the white haired teenager exited the bathroom, wearing his everyday clothes which consisted of blue jeans and an orange opened button up shirt with a red shirt that held the symbol of the boy's favorite superhero, Ace Savvy.

Lincoln looked around, noticing it was still quiet. He placed a hand to the back of his head as he began to walk downstairs.

'_Huh… must have finished earlier than I expected.' _Lincoln thought to himself as he approached the kitchen. _'Then again, it is early and on a Sunday besides that. Not surprising that they're still asleep."_

Entering the land of food and drinks, he approached the fridge as his mind thought of things he could make himself to eat. Bringing his left hand to his chin, his eyes landed on a package of eggs.

'_Hmmm…' _A smile formed on the teenager's face as he reached for the eggs. _'An omelette this morning sounds nice.' _

Grabbing the ingredients he needed, he close the fridge with a smile...

"Lincoln."

"Gah!"

Only to jump in surprise as he took notice of a pale skinned preteen girl standing to the side in her sleepwear. He fumbled with the materials in his hands before managing to get a grip on them as he sighed in relief. Calming down, he gave a cross of what was a glare and exasperated look towards the girl, who stood there with her arms behind her back and a small bat resting on top of her head.

"Lucy…" Lincoln started with a sigh. "You really need to stop doing that before one of us hits you by accident."

"Sorry." The preteen responded, though her monotonic tone didn't seem to be apologetic at all. You wouldn't be even to tell from her expression either, considering dark bangs hid most of her face.

Lincoln simply shook his head with a small smile. "Of course you are."

Lucy simply shrugged as she followed her brother, who had began walking towards the oven. "Why are you up so early anyway? We don't have school today."

"Wanted to beat the line to the bathroom this morning. No offense to you guys, but all of you take way too long to get ready." The teen pulled out a few pieces of kitchenware he would need. "Not to mention the last thing I wanted to do was forget something again, and end up right back to the end of the line."

"You know you could always keep your stuff in the bathroom."

"And have Lynn use my soap again because she always forgets hers? No thanks." Lincoln then gave a slight glare towards his gothic sister from his crouching position on the floor. "I also know you use it sometimes too, because you like it's dark color."

The sheepish grin that appeared on Lucy's face told him all he needed to know about that accusation. The teen simply sighed as he stood back up.

Lucy walked closer, growing curious. "What are you cooking by the way?"

"An omelette." Lincoln replied, as he cracked a few eggs over a bowl. "Mom bought some more eggs yesterday, so thought I used the ones left over from earlier before they expire."

"...Do you mind if I have one too?"

Lincoln stopped his task, thinking it over for a small moment before giving his gothic little sister an amused smile. "Let me guess, you want it black too?" Seeing the young goth nod, he chuckled. "Alright… just grab me a few more eggs."

Lucy nodded, smiling as she hurried over to the refrigerator to grab what her brother asked for. Lincoln simply shook his head, returning to his prep.

'_The things I do for love…'_

* * *

The chaotic morning of the Loud household had come and gone, the daughters fighting over who gets the first shower of the day, the equally if not more chaotic breakfast, and the morning rituals of everyone involved. With those done, everyone decided to get on to their daily routines for Sunday.

"Oh my god, she did not!" a voice belonging to a female teenager shouted.

Lincoln's, who was sitting in the living room watching television, ears twitched as his expression became slightly annoyed. From one of the hallways leading to the room, came a tall female with blonde hair and a light blue shirt with cargo shorts. She talked on her phone with an excited expression on her face as she plopped down onto the couch.

"I _literally _told her that was a bad idea! But nope! She never listens." The blonde spoke, almost ignoring Lincoln's presence as he simply stared at her annoyed.

The white haired son of the Loud clan sighed. _'She couldn't have taken this anywhere else?'_

It was nothing new for Lori to have her loud phone conversations anywhere in the house. The fact that she was the eldest of the Loud children gave her the idea she could do so unless their parents told her to tone it down, which didn't happen too often unless they were in the middle of something.

Quite frankly, even though he loved his older sister, Lincoln thought it was one of the most obnoxious things in the Loud house.

Shaking his head, he instead opted to focus on the anime that was playing in front of him, trying his best to drown out the obnoxious talking next to him.

"Hey twerp."

Lincoln perked up, turning slightly to look the blonde next to him, who was giving him her own annoyed look.

Lori crossed her arms with a frown. "Mind passing me the remote? Rather not sit here watching your kiddie cartoons."

"First of all, it's called anime. There's a difference between the two." Lincoln responded, getting an eye roll from his sister. "Second, you know the rules. I was here first."

"Well I was _born _first." Lori's glare intensified as she snarled towards her brother. Her eyes then turned towards the remote that was resting on the table.

Lincoln took notice however and grabbed the remote quickly, pulling it towards him almost protectively. "And that's supposed to mean something? You're only older than me by eleven months you know."

Lori sneered and looked ready to lunge before a voice cut into their argument.

"Lincoln! Can you come here for a second? I need your help with something."

The white haired teen grunted from the sound of their mother's request as Lori's expression grew smug. Thinking quickly however, the male teen gave the remote a quick lick much to the disgust and shock of the eldest.

Lincoln grinned before tossing the remote towards his demanding sister, who screamed as she avoided it by scooting backwards into the sofa. "Here! Enjoy Lori." He laughed as he left the room, taking amusement in the death glare his sibling was giving him.

Suddenly, another screen popped in front of him causing him to stop.

**_You managed to get the better of your elder sibling!_**

**_+3 to INT and WIS._**

Lincoln deadpanned as he closed the screen with a tap of his fingers. _'Seriously? You get stat points for anything…'_

Thinking nothing of it, he continued on to the kitchen to help with whatever his mother needed, not paying attention to the confused stare he was getting from Lori, who noticed his actions.

* * *

"Alright kids! Dinner time!"

With the cry that came from the patriarch of the house, the rumbling of footsteps came roaring down the stairs as the children of the Loud clan came running for dinner. It helped that today was a special day as Lynn Sr had decided to try out a pizza recipe thanks to some persuasion from his wife who decided to treat their kids for once.

Speaking of which, Rita watched with amusement on her face as her children from her seat at the table. Shaking her head as she noticed them began to argue, she finally spoke up. "Now kids, no need to fight. There's enough pizza to go around, and your father already has another in the oven."

That seemed to calm them down a bit, though she could still see a few of them glaring at one another causing a chuckle to escape her lips. It was then at that point she noticed something else.

"Girls…" She stopped as her daughters turn towards her. "Where's your brother? I thought he would be one of the first ones down when pizza is being served."

Lynn Sr nodded from where he was standing as he raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, where is Lincoln? Thinking about it, I haven't seen him too much today."

"Bro stepped out earlier, said he was going for a run." Luna answered, finally approaching the front of the line. "He did say he'd make it back in time for the grub."

"A run huh…" Rita muttered to herself, as she placed a hand under her chin. Lincoln had been going out on runs quite a bit lately. While he wasn't unfit and took good care of his body, he wasn't really known to exercise a lot. At least not at the level of their athletic daughter, Lynn Jr.

It was as if just one day, he decided to start working out a lot more. She had noticed him doing pushups, situps, and all sorts of exercise lately for the past month and a half. It was starting to show on his body as well, as he was becoming slimmer, losing remnant baby fat, and his muscles were becoming more defined.

'_Only a matter of time before the girls at his school start noticing him…' _The matriarch grew a whimsical smile on her face. So far, the only child who seemed to get a fair amount of attention from the opposite sex was their eldest, Lori, who was in a relationship with that Santiago boy whose sister was long term friends with Lincoln. The way those two swooned over each other, reminded Rita of her old sweetheart days with Lynn.

Before the woman could reminisced about the past anymore, the kitchen door opening caught her and everyone else's attention as in stepped the white haired son of the Loud house, panting with sweat dripping from his brow. He seemed to take notice of everyone looking at him, as he looked up with his right hand forming a peace sign.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" The boy greeted with a grin.

Rita breathed out a small laugh. "Nothing much, but you're a bit late for dinner Lincoln."

"Ah…" Lincoln scratched the back of his head with a slight grimace. "S-Sorry about that, I lost track of time while I was out."

"We can see that…" Rita shook her head, taking notice of the boy's damp and dirty clothes. "Why don't you go upstairs and freshen up before you eat. Don't worry, there will still be pizza here when you get back."

Lincoln turned to his father, who nodded with his own smile. Sighing, he gave his mother a nod before walking upstairs. However, as he began to walk up the steps Rita took notice of weird gestures he was making with his right hand. Thinking nothing of it at the moment, she stood up as she began to grab her own share of the food.

* * *

Lincoln plopped down on his bed with a sigh, drying his hair with a towel.

Dinner had gone just about how he expected. The kiddie table or table that contained the younger Loud children from Lucy to Lily, caused mayhem and were quite loud throughout their meal. He felt a bit sorry for Lucy, who seemed to be mainly trying to eat her food in peace but the other siblings loved to pull her into their antics.

At the grown up table, things were more calm, though the children's mother had interrogated them a bit on how school was going. Apparently, she had also found out from several parents and the principal at Royal Woods Middle about how Luan had done a massive prank on the cheerleading squad at her school and wasn't happy about it. Luan had defended that the only reason she did so was because they were picking on her and some of her friends, getting some sympathy from their mother who decided to not punish her, but Luan would still have to go to in-school suspension for a few days.

Lincoln's expression soured at the thought of one of his younger sisters being picked on. Whilst he knew most of them could defend and look out for themselves, he still was the second oldest of the sibling pack. As such, he felt a duty to look out for his sisters when he needed to. He had remembered this past summer when one boy had tricked Leni into thinking he had feelings for her only to reveal he was using her to make his ex-girlfriend jealous so she'd want him to get back with her. Once he had succeeded in that goal, they both embarrassed Leni in public sending the girl crying home.

Lincoln was far from the violent type, but when he had found out, the very next day he confronted the boy in the park. Once he got confirmation from said person, in a smug manner at that, he proceeded to punch the boy in the face before giving him a much deserved beatdown before two of his friends, Clyde and Rusty, had pulled him off the bastard and got him to calm down. He had gotten in trouble for it later, but he didn't care and knew he'd do it again if he had to. His sisters were his family, he'd defend them and fight for their honor as much as he needed to. His parents after grounding him even gave him praise for standing up for Leni and defending her honor. The feeling was quite mutual too from what he's experienced as his sisters would poke their noses into his business whenever they could especially if something seemed to be bothering him, even if it annoyed him to no end with their meddling. It didn't help that there was this time he had a small crush on this one girl named Christina, they had found out and tried playing matchmaker for him.

The end result was him getting slapped in the face and the girl quickly changing her all of her classes to make sure she avoided him.

The white haired teen sighed, trying to dispel the memory before the sound of his cell phone vibrating caught his attention. Picking it up, he noticed he had received a text message from his friend Clyde. Raising an eyebrow, he opened the app to read it.

"_Hey, u want to face chat on Skype?"_

Lincoln chuckled before typing and sending his response as he sat up to grab his laptop off the dresser.

"_Sure, let me start up my laptop."_

A few minutes later, the teen sat atop his bed with his laptop in his lap as he awaited the call. Soon a notification of a call came and in a fluid motion, Lincoln clicked the accept button as the picture of a dark skinned teenager with glasses and his hair styled in an afro appeared.

Lincoln grinned which his friend returned. "Hey Clyde, how's it going?"

"Pretty good." Clyde seemed to lean back in his chair, as he placed his arms behind his head. "What about you?"

"Not bad at all, just had dinner and chilling right now." Lincoln responded as he also leaned into a more comfortable position. "You finished that English assignment yet?"

"For Ms. Cruz?" Getting a nod in confirmation, the african american nodded back. "Yeah, finished it just this morning. She wasn't kidding when she said it was going to be a tough one."

"It was just an essay man over Romeo and Juliet man. If you read it or at least used Sparknotes, you would have been fine."

"Fair enough, still you know how hard she grades…" Clyde rubbed the back of his head as he glanced to the side. "I've already failed one essay from her because I didn't give enough detail on the subject."

"Least you're doing better than Rusty…" Lincoln said, trying to cheer his friend up. "From what I hear, he's in danger of failing the class. You know his dad will be pissed."

Clyde grinned awkwardly. "Point. Then again Rusty doesn't seem to do good in any of his classes if we're being honest. He would have been held back last school year if you didn't convince Lisa to tutor him."

"He still owes me one for that." Lincoln rubbed his arm, shivering slightly as if recalling an unpleasant experience. "Had to be Lisa's test subject for awhile as 'compensation for wasting her time with trivial matters'. I'm pretty sure I still have hair growing in places they shouldn't be."

"Heh… well he did say he'd help you get a girlfriend…"

"He needs to get one himself before he promises anyone that." Lincoln deadpanned, his expression completely blank.

Clyde laughed in amusement before deciding to actually approach that subject more. "Speaking of that, isn't there the Sadie Hawkins dance next month?"

"It is?" Lincoln looked to the side at his school's calendar which was on his wall. "Huh, what do you know… it is."

"So… you going to go?"

"Mmm…" Lincoln leaned back in his chair in thought. "Not sure actually… was thinking of passing on it and going to the arcade instead. Should be pretty quiet that day, so the lines for games will be short."

Clyde's eyebrows furrowed. "Oh come on man! We're high school juniors! We're in our youth! We need to enjoy this time!"

"Is there a reason you sound like Rusty right now?"

"What I'm saying is…" Clyde continued, ignoring the question. "Instead of always going to the arcade on Fridays like we usually do, let's enjoy our youth for once! Find a nice girl, go to the dance and show off our moves, and maybe, just maybe, get a kiss and a girlfriend by the end of the day!"

Lincoln, however, look completely unamused. "Yeah… because we're real popular among the girls at our school."

Clyde winced slightly as if he had been hit in the heart, but he continued on. "Come on man. I gave up on Lori last school year because I realized it was never going to happen…"

"More like you gave up on Lori because her and Bobby were getting annoyed with you and he threatened to beat you up if you didn't stop." Lincoln crossed his arms. "Really man, if wasn't for me and Ronnie Anne smoothing things over with him, he would have beaten you into the ground."

"_I could have taken him…" _Clyde muttered before continuing. "But seriously, after realizing me and Lori were never going to happen, I've been trying to find a girlfriend for awhile. It's just… I haven't had a whole lot of luck in that regard. So I figured this might be the best time to actually get one. I know it's still early to think this, but next year is our senior year. We won't have a lot of time to focus on stuff like this at that point."

Lincoln stayed silent for a moment, thinking over Clyde's words. His friend did raise a point. Their high school years were getting shorter each day, and they promised themselves when they first became freshman, that they would make this time some of the best years of their life.

'_Maybe I should put some thought into going to the dance…' _The white haired son of the Louds looked up at the ceiling. _'From what Lori said last year, it sounded fun and it's not like I can't go to the arcade at any other time. Besides, maybe I should see if I can find myself a girlfriend, if they can survive the Sisternado that is.' _

As he was in thought, a screen with a wall of text popped up to the side of him catching his attention.

_**LONG TERM QUEST ALERT**_

_**Sadie Hawkins Dance**_

_**Your best friend Clyde has brought to your attention the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Instead of being a lonely nerd, enjoy your youth and find a good date to go with. You might just enjoy yourself!**_

_**Rewards for Success: 1000 XP, Increased Charisma, Increased Reputation, (Secret Reward: Unlock required skill to see what this is), Increased Friendship with Clyde.**_

_**Consequences for Failure: 100 XP, Decreased Charisma, Decreased Reputation, Decreased Friendship with Clyde.**_

_**Accept?**_

_**Yes(O)/No(X)**_

Lincoln's expression remained completely blank as he read through the information before scratching his head with a sigh.

'_I wish this thing would stop trying to control my life…' _He then looked at Clyde, who seemed to be in thought himself. _'Still, if things work out, it could be fun. Not like I'm doing anything important that day, but the last thing I want to do is risk destroying my already low reputation.'_

Still… the rewards seemed really nice and he was interested in what this secret reward might be. Taking a moment to think about it, he hit the Accept button before another screen popped up in front of him.

**By the way, this wasn't an optional quest. It was a mandatory quest. Good for you though, you need a girlfriend anyway.**

The teen's eyebrows furrowed. "_Then why the hell did it give me a choice…?_"

As if responding directly to him, another screen popped up with one sentence of text that got an irritated look from him.

**Force of habit.**

'_I hate this system…' _Lincoln placed his face into his right palm. _'I __**really **__hate this system."_

"Lincoln?"

The teen perked up to see Clyde staring at him in a confused manner. "Everything alright bro?"

"Ah… yeah it is." Lincoln grinned, though it was a bit strained. "Just thought about something is all, but I'm down for going to the Sadie Hawkins dance. We can go to the arcade any other day."

Clyde returned his grin, fist pumping. "Alright! I'll let you lead us, Man with the Plan!"

"Hah… alright, alright I'll work on it." Lincoln scratched the back of his head as he looked to the side. "_And of course you're relying on me for this…"_

"You say something?"

"Nothing, anyway man, I'm going to log off for right now. Have to take care of some things before heading to bed."

Clyde nodded. "Yeah, same. Cleopawtra needs to be put in her cage around this time, and my dads are too scared to approach her right now since she's been extra feisty lately."

"You sure you don't need to find a different vet for her? She's been like this for a long time man." Lincoln was honestly feeling a bit concerned for his friend's and his dads safety. Their house cat while usually mild, had some temperament problems that caused it to lash out and force them to lock it up at times.

Clyde shook his head, smiling weakly. "It'll be fine! I hope…"

"Whatever man, it's your pet…" Lincoln took another glance at the clock before turning back. "Alright, I'm off. See you tomorrow man."

"Alright later Linc!" And with that, Clyde's face disappeared off the screen as it went black.

Lincoln sighed before leaning back into his chair as he looked up to the ceiling.

"What did I get myself into…?" The sole Loud son muttered to himself as he placed a hand to his forehead. While he wasn't exactly unpopular with the girls at his school, he wouldn't call himself popular with them either. He was probably somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

Could he ask Lori for help, maybe?"

'_No.' _Lincoln's eyes hardened as he sat up. _'Hell no actually. No way I can rely on __**any **__of my sisters for this, because knowing them they'll make that night a mess. As much as they want to think they are, they aren't good matchmakers.'_

Sighing as he ran a hand across his forehead, he eventually shrugged as he lay on his bed. "Well, I got a good amount of time before the dance. I'll figure something out… _hopefully."_

At least it wasn't going to be a boring month, that's for sure.

* * *

Monday morning had come, and along with that the craziness that was a weekday morning for the Loud family. The Loud children pushed and shoved for the front of the line to the shower, though Lincoln had woken up early and managed to avoid it. Meanwhile, the parents had started getting ready to head to work and were waiting for their friends to come and give them a ride to work as Lori would take the family van and drop her siblings off before she driving herself and the other high school kids to school.

Lincoln sat on the sofa in the living room tying his shoes, before standing up and grabbing his backpack which was to the side before starting to walk to the front door.

"Heading out for the day?" The white haired son looked behind him to see his mother looking at him with a smile and her arms crossed.

Lincoln nodded, smiling as he fixed his backpack. "Yeah. Figured I might as well, since I'm walking to school alone today."

"Alone? Clyde and Ronnie Anne aren't available?"

"Clyde told me he had to call in today, something about a family issue and Ronnie Anne went on ahead." Lincoln scratched the back of his head. "So it's just me today."

Rita nodded, a small smile on her face. "Well, just be safe then."

"I will. Later mom." With that, Lincoln turned around to walk outside the door.

"By the way, Lincoln." The teenager turned around to see his mother having a cross between a serious and concerned expression. "Has… everything been okay lately?"

"Um, yeah I guess? Nothing out of the ordinary." Lincoln crossed his arms in confusion. "What's up mom?"

"It's just…" Rita stayed silent for a moment to ponder over her next words. "You seem to be acting strange lately. Zoning out at times and looking like you're focusing intently on something. Are you sure everything is alright?"

Lincoln didn't answer right away, appearing to be in his own thoughts for a moment. Finally, he gave his mother a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine mom. I've just been… thinking about some things lately is all."

"Are you sure? We could always talk about it if y-"

"No! No, everything is fine." Lincoln grinned, trying to convince his mother. "I'll be fine mom, promise."

Rita kept her stare for awhile longer, before finally sighing as she nodded. "Alright, but if things start getting out of hand you come straight to me or your father. Understood?"

"Understood." Lincoln said, giving his mom a quick peck on the cheek before dashing out the house.

Rita simply shook her head with a sigh. "You can't hide things from me Lincoln, a mother knows all." She turned around, walking to her room, to start getting ready for her day at work. _'I might have to call Dad about this…'_

* * *

Lincoln walked down the street, his thoughts going to the conversation he had with his mother.

While he wouldn't consider himself a model child in any sense of the phrase, lying to his mother when she was simply showing concern towards his well being left a slightly poor taste in mouth. It was obvious that the parents cared deeply about each of their children, adopted or not.

'_Well, what was I supposed to tell her? "Hey mom, my life turned into a video game and I have no idea how that happened."' _A small grimace formed on his face as he rubbed his forehead. _'Yeah, that would have gone over well.'_

Sighing to himself, he reached in his pocket to pull out his phone along with a pair of earphones. Turning on his phone and scrolling through a few apps before finding the music station, he plugged in his earphones as he began to hear music playing.

'_Guess I'll think about it late-'_

_BOOM!_

As if some deity decided to purposely screw with him, an explosion rocked in front of him knocking the boy backwards a couple of feet on his back and sending his phone to the ground. Groaning, he sat up wincing in pain before he saw something in front of him that made his eyes widen in shock and awe.

There were two girls, standing across from each other on top of two buildings, glaring at one another. Around them it had looked like a riot had taken place as fences were destroyed, buildings were damaged, and the street had seen better days.

One girl was a brown eyed brunette whose hair was in a ponytail. She was wearing a red shirt with green cuffs and collar and a A in the middle, a yellow skirt, and red socks along with black shoes. In her hands were what looked like cards from Lincoln's point of view. Her face was set into an angry yet determined glare as she gazed at her opponent.

On the other side was a pale looking girl that honestly reminded Lincoln a bit of Lucy. Her hair was black and long while her eyes were also black. She was wearing a sky blue shirt with white long sleeves that came from underneath. Her lower body consisted of a black checkered skirt with a purple jumper wrapped around her waist along with dark grey boots. The girl closed her eyes and as if on cue a large shadowy figure rose up from behind her, grinning with terrifyingly sharp white teeth as it's red eyes leered at the other girl. The girl opened her eyes as her expression turned into a calm uninterested gaze, as if she was considering this confrontation more of an annoyance than anything.

Lincoln calmly surveyed the scene in front of him, before one phrase finally escaped his mouth.

"What the _hell?_"

* * *

I'm alive! Somehow despite the hell that is real life!

But hey guys, apologies to those that have been waiting. I know I said it'd probably only take me a month, but things got pretty hectic over the summer and with me starting school now... yeah. Also playing Epic Seven didn't help. Still, I'll try and keep the updates not too far apart.

As you can see, outside of the final scene I have made some changes from the previous fic's first chapter. But as I said in my AN, not everything in the fic is going to change, I'm rewriting the fic as I gave some more ideas development and wanted to change some things as well. Also the harem will still be there too. I won't say what, but hopefully this is a fic you call all enjoy.

Well, I will see you all next chapter. Please review if you liked it and have a nice day.

Jacula


	2. Let's Grind

There were a number of things Lincoln was ready for this morning.

Having a boring day at school as always.

Getting hit with a pop quiz from his history teacher.

Having some trouble with his sisters again.

This however?

This wasn't something he was ready for.

The white haired teenager rolled out of the way again as several cards nearly collided where he was. A small explosion took place, causing him to wince slightly. Shaking his head slightly, he looked up towards the roofs to see the two girls engaged in battle.

The brunette jumped from rooftop to rooftop, firing card projectiles at the black haired girl. Following her was the dark creature that seemed to be controlled by other girl as it attacked with claws and bites.

'_What the hell is going on…?' _Lincoln thought with an amazed yet confused expression. He looked around the area, observing the damage the two were causing. _'Where is everyone? Why are these two even battling in the first place? Scratch that, where did they come from?! They weren't there ten minutes ago!"_

Warning bells in his head went off again as he noticed a bit of debris come falling towards him.

"Shit!" Lincoln rolled out of the way once again before dashing towards a house and hiding behind it as he attempted to catch his breath.

Not knowing that he was heard…

* * *

"Hmm?"

Maggie Granger raised an eyebrow as she looked towards the street. Her dark eyes glared towards the ground before a battle cry caught her attention. Looking back, she saw several cards come flying towards her.

"Tch. Yami." On cue, the dark shadow that had been doing her fighting for her appeared in front of her and crossed it's arms in an X in front of it. The result was a small explosion that pushed Maggie back a few inches but she showed no further signs of damage.

Nor did the shadow creature as the only signs that an attack took place was the dirt that appeared on it's arms.

Maggie let out a sigh, looking boringly at the other girl. "Is that all you can do? It's starting to get old."

The brunette twisted her mouth seemingly in frustration as she pulled out several more cards from her sides. "Shut up! It's not like you managed to do much damage either! Not to mention, your monster is doing all the fighting!"

'_She sounds like a little kid…' _Maggie simply sighed once again before pointing at the girl. "Yami. Get her."

The creature once again rushed at the girl causing her to jump back to create some distance. She sent several more of her cards at the monster, but it simply maneuvered through them and appeared in front of the teenager, much to her surprise. With a large grin, it struck the girl sending her crashing to the ground.

Maggie watched before hearing a cutting through the wind noise, causing her to look behind her as she noticed the cards from earlier come racing back towards her.

"Crap, Yami!" The emo teen called her monster as it came rushing back to intercept the attack as another explosion took place. Though it succeeded in doing so, the resulting force sent Maggie flying back and off the roof into several bushes.

The black haired teenager groaned as she pulled herself out, wincing as she had felt a few thorns cut into her skin. She hadn't been prepared for the cards to be heat seeking of sorts.

'_That's what I get for letting my guard down…' _Maggie berated herself as she brushed a few leaves out of her hair. Looking up, she saw her opponent pick herself up off the ground with a wince of her own.

"You're not bad." Maggie commented, a small smirk forming on her face.

A smirk appeared on the other girl's face as well. "Thanks, you're pretty good too. If you weren't attacking me, I'd almost ask you to join my group. Especially since we need more people."

"Heh, well sorry, but I prefer to be a solo act." A shadow rose up from behind Maggie once again. "Now… let's get back to it."

"Now you're speaking my lang-" The brunette suddenly stopped as if a thought just came to mind. "Hey, do you know what time it is?"

Maggie raised a perplexed eyebrow. "You're asking the person you're fighting what time it is?" Getting a sheepish look in return, Maggie simply pulled out her phone. "It's… 8 am."

The words seem to process through the card wielding girl as her eyes widened. "Oh… crap! I'm going to be late!" She grinned sheepishly at Maggie, holding a hand up. "Sorry, but if I get more tardy, I'll get detention for sure!"

Before Maggie could even attempt to respond, the girl ran off before disappearing into thin air. The emo teenager blinked before sighing with a shake of her head.

"And just like that…" She looked up with a tired expression. "The magic was gone. Well no use complaining about it. Return Yami."

Behind her, the dark creature nodded before sinking back into Maggie's own shadow. Maggie let out a sigh, stretching her neck as she looked down at her hand, clenching it into a fist.

'_It's still not enough… I have to get stronger.' _She glared intensely at seemingly nothing before turning to her side and calling out. "Hey! I know you're there, so you can come out now."

She heard a small curse before slowly, a teenage boy around her age stepped out from behind a house with his hands raised in the air.

* * *

Two teenagers stood in the middle of what appeared to be an abandoned street. One slightly nervous and confused, the other seemingly apathetic.

Lincoln gulped slightly, not sure of what to say in this situation nor what to even do. One moment he was walking to school as normal, the next thing he knew he was watching two girls have a battle he could only think of in a fantasy setting.

It also didn't help that Maggie was giving him a look of which he could not discern. Her black eyes seemingly studying him. It unnerved him out a bit, and he remained on guard.

Finally after a few moments of silence, Maggie finally spoke. "You're Lincoln right? Lincoln Loud? Lucy's big brother?"

"Um… yeah?" Lincoln was curious as to why Maggie knew his eleven year old sister and as well as why this was her way of remembering who he was. However, knowing the two of them have never really interacted before it really shouldn't be that much of a surprise. "You're Maggie Granger right?"

Maggie's eyes narrowed, causing Lincoln to think he might have angered her before she spoke again. "So I am right…" She placed a hand to her chin. "How did you get here?"

Lincoln laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh... I was hoping you'd know the answer to that. One minute, I'm walking to school as normal and the next minute I see you and…" Lincoln thought it over for a moment. "Renee fighting."

"I see…" Maggie closed her eyes in thought for a moment before holding a hand to the sky. "We need to get to school, so we'll talk about this later at lunch."

Before Lincoln could respond or question her, Maggie shouted.

"ID Barrier! Break!"

And the world returned to normal.

* * *

"Now as you can see, if you carry the two…"

If there was one thing Ronnie Anne Santiago was sure of, it was that she hated Algebra.

The sixteen year old latina sat at her desk staring out a window in the classroom, a bored expression across her face as she barely listened to the lecture going on. She idly blew a loose strand of black hair that fell in front of her face away.

'_Maybe I should have worn my hair in a ponytail today…' _The girl thought in slight annoyance, continuing to stare out the window as her thoughts began to wander.

"Ms. Santiago."

The teenage girl perked up at the sound of her name as she looked back towards the board to see the teacher glaring at her with his arms crossed.

"Just wanted to make sure you were back on Earth with the rest of us." His expression turned annoyed. "If not, I could always stop. Wouldn't want to waste your time."

Ronnie Anne flinched, waving her hands in front of her frantically. "Oh! No Mr. Smith, you weren't boring me! I was just thinking about something is all!"

"Is that so? Well, I _advise_ you to think about the class material at the moment. Midterms will be here before you know it." Mr. Smith looked at the rest of his class, with a stern glare. "That's for all of you. I know you kids are excited for the Sadie Hawkins dance coming up soon but instead of doing as you youngsters do and 'get jiggy with it' I suggest you all study instead."

A chorus of "Yes sir." came in response, though quite a few of them winced at the teacher's attempt at slang.

Ronnie Anne was one of them, her eyebrow twitching. _'Get jiggy with it? Does anybody even say that nowadays?'_

Before she could further question her teacher's vocabulary, the classroom door opened up as a teenager with white hair walked in.

"Ah, Mister Loud nice of you to finally join us." Mr. Smith said, tone dripping with sarcasm. "I hope you have your tardy excuse.

Lincoln scratched the back of his head with a nervous smiled as he pulled out a small white slip from his pocket. "Yeah, here you go Mr. Smith. Sorry, got lost on my way here because I wanted to try out a new route."

"Yes, yes, just remember to be more careful next time." The teacher placed the note on his desk before returning to the board.

Lincoln shook his head before approaching his desk, which was right next to Ronnie Anne's. The latina smiled at the sight of one of her best friends, leaning closer to him so she could speak in a whisper.

"What's up Lame-O?"

Lincoln smirked back. "Nothing but the sky Ronnie Anne. Same stuff as always."

"Whatever…" The girl rolled her eyes, but her smile remained. "So, what's up with being late for class today?"

"Oh that?" Lincoln muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I… got lost on the way here remember?"

Ronnie Anne's expression turned deadpan. "Yeah, like I believe that from you of all people. Who was the one who used to plan all of our trick or treating routes for Halloween again?"

"Everyone makes mistakes Ms. Santiago." A grin formed on Lincoln's face, showing the girl that he was obviously enjoying messing with her. "Can't expect me to be perfect all the time."

Ronnie Anne's reaction was the simply roll her eyes once again with a snort of amusement as she turned her gaze back to the front of the classroom. No need to risk getting in trouble with a teacher she already ready wasn't popular with.

'_Still though…' _Her black eyes turning back to look at Lincoln as he was pulling out his notebook. _'Something's up with him, he's been acting weird for awhile now. I wonder what…?'_

Until then, it was probably best that she paid attention in class.

* * *

"Here you go kid."

Lincoln grimaced as what at best appeared to be a slob of meat was placed on his tray. Along with it, was a carton of milk, a cup of red jello, and a sugar cookie.

'_And for today's culinary delights, we bring you the Royal Woods High's special." _Shaking off his slight disgust, he nodded his thanks to the lunch lady as he moved along the line. As he stood there, his thoughts began to wander back to this morning.

'_Just what was going on? Why were Maggie and Renee even fighting?' _He didn't know much about Maggie, but having known Renee for several years now, he knew the girl was far from the type of pick a fight.

Then again, until now he didn't know the girl had some superpowers of sorts until now either…

As the teenager pondered over this thoughts, a hand came across his shoulder with a few taps and getting his attention. Turning his head, he looked to see a familiar brunette in a red Ace Savvy shirt smiling at him.

"Hey, it's your turn Linc." The girl said, pointing to the front. Lincoln turned his gaze to see the cashier waiting on him.

"Oh…" Lincoln muttered, running a hand across the back of his neck. "Sorry about that."

A few short moments later, the second eldest of the Loud children walked out to the main part of the cafeteria before stopping and looking behind him to see the brunette from earlier approaching him.

"Finally with us Linc?" The grin on the girl's face held a small amount of playfulness behind it, causing Lincoln to smile sheepishly.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry Renee, just been a bit out of it today." The boy responded, as they began to walk to the table where their group usually sat at. "By the way, can we talk later?"

"Hmm?" Renee raised an eyebrow in confusion. "About what Linc?"

Lincoln placed his tray down on the table. "It's just abo-"

A hand placing itself on his right shoulder caught his attention, as he turned to see a pair of charcoal eyes staring at him causing him to flinch.

"Excuse me, but we need to talk Loud." Maggie turned her gaze towards Renee. "You don't mind do you?"

Lincoln turned his vision to his friend, who held an unreadable expression on her face making him slightly nervous the two would start fighting here and now. However, to his relief Renee simply sighed before nodding as she began to walk over to their friends.

Lincoln sighed as well, turning back to the emo teenager. "You know, considering you were just fighting her this morning, you're pretty direct with Renee."

"Figured she wouldn't fly off the handle and attack me at school or try and open an ID barrier." Maggie answered back with a shrug, leading Lincoln to the back of the cafeteria. "Anyway that's not important, I did say I'd tell you more about what happened."

"Yeah you did…" Lincoln muttered, sitting down at the table as Maggie sat across from him. The girl brushed a lock of hair out from her eyes as she took a breath.

"To keep it simple, the Abyss is an underground hidden from the general public. Not many people know about it, but it does have an influence on world events affecting things like economics, elections, and the like." Maggie started, poking a fork into her lunch and cringing slightly in disgust as it fell over giving a foul smell. Shaking her head, she continued. "It's also just not stationed in Royal Woods, Michigan, or even the United States. It's all over the world in every country, every nation, and every continent."

Lincoln nodded, processing the information. "So basically an underground that's hidden from the whole world right?" He placed a hand under his chin. "So… what's up with those abilities you and Renee have."

"We're what you call Natural Ability users. To put it in simple terms, they're people with special powers." Maggie started, gesturing with her hands. "No one really knows how you get them, but we can do things out of the ordinary like summoning a monster out of your shadow."

Lincoln snorted at that, but let Maggie continue.

"People like us rule the Abyss. Sure, there are people who don't have abilities that hold some type of power here, but they have a strong influence or deep pockets. They often surround themselves with strong people, using the Abyss as a way to grow more powerful here and outside."

"Huh… sounds dangerous."

"It is, people get killed here or can suffer a fate much worse than death if they're not careful." Maggie's gaze hardened slightly as she stared at Lincoln. "Trust me when I say this Loud. You don't want to get involved in the Abyss. Forget everything you saw today and go back to living your life."

Lincoln stayed silent at that as Maggie stood up from the table with her tray in her hands. As she walked past him, he called out to her. "Then why are you involved in the Abyss?"

Maggie remained silent for a few moments, not a word being said between the two of them.

"Because…" Maggie almost whispered in a soft tone. "Because I'm trying to find someone. Someone very important to me and that's all you need to know. We're not friends Loud, don't get it twisted. You're on your own from here on out."

With that Maggie walked away to discard of her lunch as Lincoln sat at the table in his own thoughts. Eventually he sighed as he placed a hand to his temple.

"Dang it, what do I do?"

* * *

The second half of the school day just seemed like a blur to Lincoln. He could barely remember what he went over in the lectures as his mind continued to wander back to the conversation he had with Maggie.

'_What do I do?' _The teenager tapped his pencil against his cheek as he stared off into space in thought.

The smart thing to do would to do as Maggie said and forget everything that happened this morning. He didn't know anything about the Abyss. Why should he risk his life in it for no real reason? Just because he had a Natural Ability that turned his life into a video game? That was stupid!

But.

But… he couldn't explain it but some part of him wanted to get involved. It was as if a part of him called out to this type of challenge in front of him. He wanted to get involved. He wanted to get stronger.

He just didn't know why…

The boy sighed, watching as his Biology teacher went over her lecture using PowerPoint slides. It wasn't the most interesting subject, but as long as he passes he didn't really care. Not to mention, there were times she wasn't the greatest teacher.

'_Still…' _Lincoln placed a hand under his chin in thought. _'If I wanted to get stronger, how would I even go along with that? I'm only level nine at the moment. Sure I work out from time to time, but if I want to get near Maggie's and Renee's level I need more than doing exercises and pushing my body.' _

He sat there thinking, trying to come up with solutions to his problem. As far as he knew, he was a blank state character in a video game. The possibilities for him are endless, and the sky was the limit.

'_If I'm going to get stronger, I'm going to need grind. Problem is, how can I do t-huh?'_

A small blue screen popped up in front of him, grabbing his attention. He looked around, making sure no one was paying too much attention to him before he read the text.

_Congratulations! You have begun your first steps down the path of getting strong through a strong desire. To help you reach this goal, we will now grant you access to the Item World, where you can grind your equipment level while also getting stronger yourself as you proceed down floors where enemies get stronger each time!_

Lincoln blinked. "Item… World?"

"Mr. Loud?"

Lincoln jumped slightly noticing everyone turning their gaze towards him. His teacher in particular had a perplexed look on her face.

"Is something the matter Mr. Loud?" She asked once again.

Lincoln blinked again before holding up his hands and grinning nervously. "Oh! No it's nothing Ms. Yates!"

Ms. Yates simply stared at him for a moment before returning back to her lecture, as a sigh of relief escaped Lincoln's lips. While everyone's attention was away from him, he quickly closed the screen with a tap of his fingers.

'_Well… I guess that answers my question on how I can get stronger.' _A small smile appeared on Lincoln's face, excitement starting to bubble in him. _'Can't wait to try it.'_

The rest of the class went by quickly and Lincoln grabbed his things as he headed towards his locker with a small amount of excitement but nervousness to his step.

'_Wonder if I should head home real quick to grab anything?' _He opened his locker, grabbing the books he would need for tonight's homework. _'Hmm, I don't think I need to. I got a few things in my inventory, so hopefully that should be enough. On that note, I should probably wait until I'm in a secluded area before doing this. Don't need to risk disappearing where anyone can see me."_

Lincoln sighed as he closed his locker. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Ready for what?"

Lincoln's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he turned his side to see Renee looking at him with a smile. Her arms were crossed as she leaned on the lockers with a small mischievous look in her eyes.

"Oh Renee! Didn't notice you there!"

"I can tell…" Renee breathed out a small laugh as she pushed herself off the lockers. "Getting ready to head home?"

"Uh… yeah." Lincoln said, before noticing a couple of lines of text above Renee's head.

_Renee Mason_

_Level 23 Ace Savvy Fangirl_

'_Well that's fitting…' _Lincoln thought with a deadpan face.

Renee didn't seem to notice as she stepped a bit closer to Lincoln. "By the way, during lunch you said you wanted to talk to me about something. So what was it?"

"Oh…" Lincoln scratched the back of his head. "That? Er… don't worry about it now. It was no big deal to begin with."

"You sure? Your face looked kind of serious back then."

"I'm sure Renee, it's cool!" Lincoln rubbed a hand against the back of his neck with a laugh. "It solved itself in a way you can say."

Renee's mouth twisted a bit in thought before opening. "Lincoln I-"

"Here you are Renee."

The brunette seemed to jump in surprise as she and Lincoln looked behind her to see a bespectacled female brunette wearing what appeared to be a green and white school uniform of sorts standing behind Renee with a slightly stern frown.

The girl tapped her foot slightly in what appeared to be annoyance from Lincoln's point of view as she took another step towards Renee, looking up as she was a bit shorter. "I was just looking for you. Considering we were all supposed to meet up in the Student Council room fifteen minutes ago, and you were the only one out of us four that was missing."

"Oh…" Renee grew a nervous smile on her face. "S-Sorry about that Hazel. I was just talking to my friend Lincoln here about something."

Hazel took her gaze off of Renee to look at Lincoln who simply held a hand up in greeting sheepishly. He chuckled as he shifted his backpack on his back. "Sorry about that um Hazel. Didn't know I was holding her up."

It was then he noticed a group of text above Hazel's head.

_Hazel Stresa_

_Level 21 Student Council Secretary_

"Oh no, you're perfectly fine Lincoln." Hazel's brown eyes seemed to shine through her glasses as she glared at Renee. "Renee here is the one who should know better."

Renee scoffed under her breath, which Lincoln managed to pick up. "_Sorry mom…"_

"Excuse me?"

"N-Nothing! So hey, let's not keep Yuna and Karin waiting shall we!" Renee waved towards Lincoln as she began to walk briskly away. "See you later Linc!"

Lincoln and Hazel both observed as the brown haired Ace Savvy fan started to dash down the halls. Lincoln turned towards Hazel as she sighed in what he could tell was exasperation.

"What am I going to do with these three…? I'm not even the leader." Hazel muttered, before turning back to Lincoln and giving him a nod as she began to walk away herself.

Lincoln scratched the side of his head in confusion. "What just happened?"

Shrugging to himself, he walked out the school with his destination already in mind.

* * *

It wasn't a long walk to one of the forests. Royal Woods High was actually pretty close to one, which made it pretty nice when he needed to get away from the public eye. It helped even more that a Burpin Burger joint that recently opened up was on the way there.

Lincoln chewed on the double cheese burpin burger as he ducked under a few branches as he went deeper into the forest. Swallowing, he crunched the wrapper into a small ball before stuffing it into his pocket. Finally approaching a clearing that was surrounded by trees, he smiled as he placed his backpack down on the ground.

"Alright." The sole son of the Loud family stretched a bit before swiping down and pulling up a holographic screen that contained a portrait of himself along with a number of parameters and other options. "Let's check out this Item World."

Maneuvering through the options, he soon came up to an option that said "Open Item World." With a small breath, he pushed the button as right before him opened up a green portal catching him completely off guard.

"Wasn't expecting that…" Lincoln muttered, approaching the portal cautiously and looking around it. Not seeing anything of obvious danger, he simply took a deep breath before grabbing his backpack and entering the portal.

For the next few minutes, nothing but green clouded his vision as he fell down what seemed like an endless hole, screaming as he flailed around. Eventually, it stopped as he ended up on what felt like solid ground though strangely he wasn't in any pain.

"Okay…" Lincoln muttered as he stood up, dusting himself off as he checked for any injuries. "Really wasn't expecting that."

Finally gathering himself, he looked around to notice what appeared to be a nearly empty space with the exception of the grey tiled floor he was standing on. He looked up to notice that the sky was green without a single cloud.

"Well this is trippy…" Suddenly another screen popped out in front of Lincoln, catching his attention.

_Hello and welcome to the Item World! This is a separate space from reality where you can train your Equipment Level which will give benefits and stat boosts to your equipment. Here you will fight a number of enemies on a floor before moving down to the next one when you defeat all of them. Be careful as the further you go down, the stronger they'll get! Don't worry though, if you are killed in combat you will simply awaken back in the real world. However, you will not be able to leave without an Escape Crystal until you clear the floor you are currently on, so be careful! As a gift, we have placed ten Escape Crystals in your inventory just now. Alright, that's the gist of things, so let's begin shall we?_

As soon as Lincoln finish reading the next, it disappear being replaced by a countdown from ten.

'_Throwing me in fire already huh?' _Lincoln got into a fighting stance he learned from his grandfather. _'Well like Pop Pop said, the best way to learn is to just do it!'_

3…

2..

1.

As the timer hit zero, a loud buzzing sound sounded throughout the air. On cue, six small columns of data appeared in front of Lincoln causing him to tense slightly. Soon they disappear as in their place came small green monstrous looking creatures equipped with clubs came to life.

Lincoln looked above their heads, observing their title.

_Goblin Servant_

_Level 3 Monster_

"Hmm…" The teenager then silently used his _Observe _skill, taking a look at the creatures stats.

Suddenly, one of them rushed towards him with a battle cry, jumping in the air as it sought to strike him with it's club. A wicked grin was on it's face as it closed in.

"Raa-!"

Faster than it could react, a fist smashed itself into it's face sending it flying back past it's brethren before crashing harshly across the ground. The other goblins looked at their fallen ally before turning back to Lincoln, who was smirking in return.

"So…" Lincoln cracked his knuckles as a glint grew in his eyes as he approached the monsters. A large, predatory grin appeared on his face causing the goblins to take a step back in fear.

"Who's next?"

* * *

Whew! Finally managed to get this out. Med School is rough lol...

Sorry about the wait, but life calls and all that jazz so it can be hard finding time to write. Instead of writing chapters or playing games, I'm too busy learning surgical instruments. I haven't even watched most of the third season of Loud House yet, though I'm hearing it wasn't that great. Considering they lost their creator (despite how scummy the things he did was) not too surprising there was that big of a dip of quality. Either way, hopefully the series recovers.

Anyway, I am speeding things up a bit as far as Lincoln's progression goes. I wasn't too big of a fan of how I handled it in the original fic in some aspects so made some changes. Also I'm aiming to make him more of a solo now. There also wasn't appearances by his sisters in this chapter either, but couldn't find too good of moment to add them. I know a few of you guys might be wondering who Hazel is. She's a character from Epic Seven which is a mobile game I've been playing lately. I won't say too much about this yet, but just wait and see. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get the next chapter out.

Anyway please review, tell me how you felt, and have yourselves a good one.

Liexi


End file.
